Undying Love: The True Story of a Passion That Defied Death

These are the kind of books I like to read. The kind that you just can't put down. I thought the story was Astonishing, beyond belief. I can't believe that he actually had sex with her for all those years. I highly recommend this book.

Carl von Cosel is a German immigrant working as a technican in a tubercular ward in Key West. He falls in love with a beautiful woman, Elena Milagro Hoyes, who suffers from the disease, and he vows to cure her. His bizarre methods fail and, as fate would have it, Elena dies but Carl's love and devotion are far from over. What follows is one of the most incredible accounts of abnormal psychology, love and obsession you will ever read.Robbing Elena's body from her grave, Carl takes his "bride" home where he attempts to preserves her from any further deterioration. He lovingly cares for her as his wife and places her in their marriage bed where he continues to consumate passion and love until he is finally caught eight years later. The book is chilling, atrocious and shocking. It compells the reader to go on, not out of enjoyment or pleasure, but from a sense of astonishment that this true-life account of Cosel's life could continue undetected for so many years. It is, however, not a book for the weak or faint of heart. If you can endure the subject matter, it is a book worth reading.

I *thoroughly* enjoyed this book, found it hard to put it down! That someone could actually do something like this and see nothing at all strange about it boggles the mind. I understand moving a grave because of subsidence or whatever, but not taking the occupant home with you! I HIGHLY recommend this book; this is one of the most fascinating books I've read in awhile. If you enjoy reading about crime, abnormal psychology, etc., this is the book for you. I really enjoyed reading the old newspaper articles, too, the viewpoint of 50 years ago is interesting. The amount of detail in this book was about right, I thought; there could have been more detail but that would have pushed the limits of tastefulness; anything more would have been too much, unsavory.And just for the record...I want to be cremated. LOL

I saw an episode of a TV show called Haunted History. One of the stories was about this woman named Elena who dies, and a doctor who is obsessed with her ends up stealing her body from the cemetary, rebuilds the skin using wax, and kept the body for 7 years without being discovered. I was shocked to learn that was a true story. I could not beleive that someone could be that insane. After getting the book about this story and reading it, I realized there was much more than meets the eye. (After reading the book, you will know what I mean) This book covers every detail, with pictures of almost everything. A haunting TRUE story that will keep you shivering. I enjoyed reading about this mans obsession with a dead woman. If you enjoy horror stories and sick twisted romances, then this is the book for you. I thought the book was easy to follow and enjoyable.

I cannot believe that Gerry Wood wrote the ONLY review on this absolutely wonderful book by Ben Harrison. It must be the most difficult task in the world to write an objective book about necrophelia, but Harrison is the master of the impossible. He creates an unlikely, but very real hero, Count Carl von Cosel, whose passionate love for the beautiful, but doomed, Elena Milagro Hoyos makes her immortal - at least until law enforcement bursts the bubble of imagination that protects both the Count and Elena from the harsh world of reality.I urge readers to read this intriguing book in unison with Edwin Murphy's "After the Funeral" for an understanding of the importance of the dead to the living.If Ben Harrison or author Gerry Wood [fellow reviewer and fellow author] wants to contact me I amVirginia McCullough [email protected]